My Angel in the Darkness
by Amaz.Awes.Vert.Chall.Nerd
Summary: Bella Swan lives happily in Phoenix, until her parents are tragically killed in an accident. Overcome with grief, she moves to Forks to live with her Uncle Phil, where she meets a handsome, mysterious guy who helps her cope with the pain. Could it be lov
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

* * *

I stood silently beside the two graves, watching as a few more people walked away through the maze of stones, tears spilling down my cheeks. The same way they had been for the past week.

I looked up at the cloudy sky. That was odd. It very rarely rained here in Phoenix. Why did it decide to rain today? Why now? I closed my eyes as the first drops fell on my face.

My mind wandered as I tried to forget about why I was standing here in the first place. This was all so cliché, like something from a movie. The mourner standing beside the fresh graves, dressed all in black, rain mingling with their tears of grief. The only difference was that this wasn't from a movie, it was real, and it was happening to me.

Another person came to my side. I looked up into the face of one of my parents friends. I had no idea who they were but I put on my calm, controlled mask, shook their hands and accepted their condolences. The same way I had been doing all day, and all week.

I couldn't believe things had changed so drastically in such a short time. Less than 2 weeks ago I had been happy and everything had been normal. I had had both my parents then.

Last weekend they had been going to visit some relatives when they got in the accident. They had been driving down one of the less busy streets in the city when a moving truck swerved from the other lane and crashed into them head on, killing them instantly.

When the police had come to our house that day and told me. I couldn't believe them. How could my parents be gone? They couldn't be! They were going to be coming home soon, in an hour or so maybe. But I still waited. I had sat on our couch deep into the night in a state of shock, completely ignoring anything the police tried to tell me. They had sat patiently, waiting for me to break out of my trance.

They were just about to call and ambulance when the truth hit me like a bomb.

Suddenly, I had realized the truth. My parents weren't ever coming home. They really were dead. I was never going to see my mother or father again. The next thing I knew I had been crying. That crying had pulled me down into a deep state of shock. I could function, and take care of everything that needed to be done, but I was an empty shell. Nothing could make me feel any emotion.

Now, as I stood in the cemetery I knew what it felt like to be completely alone. I really didn't have anybody left. Sure, I had distant relatives and stuff, but nobody close. I didn't even have very many friends. I wouldn't even be living here a couple days from now either.

Since I had no family here in Phoenix, and I couldn't stand being where so many memories of my parents lingered around every corner, it was decided that I would move in with my Uncle Phil. He lived in Forks, Washington, somewhere I hadn't been since I was 6, when we lived there. All I could remember of it was that it was always raining, and it was too green. I didn't have anywhere else to go.

I stared down at the two graves, memorizing the engravings. _Charlie Swan_ and _Renee Swan_ _Always, remembered, Never forgotten_. Those few simple words sent waves of grief through me, causing a whole new set of tears to fall from my eyes.

When I left the graves side, when would be the next time I would see it? Would I ever return to Phoenix? I didn't think so. There were just too many things that would remind me of happier times with my parents.

I stood there for so long, deep in thought, that when I finally opened my eyes and looked around me, everybody was gone except for one person sitting in their car in the parking lot. They weren't looking at me but I could tell they had been keeping an eye on me. I wonder who told them to.

I ignored the person and looked back at the graves. It was getting late, and I still had to start packing. Despite how much I wanted to stay here with them, I had to leave. I had to put my mask back on. I had to reel in my emotions that I had just let out of control.

I bent down and placed a single red and white tulip at the foot of each of their graves.

"Goodbye." I whispered softly as I turned around and walked away to the parking lot, holding my head up high, trying to keep more tears from spilling over.

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**A/N: Hey everybody! Story numero 2!! I came up with this idea faster than I thought i would!**

**Please enjoy! and review!! Should i continue THIS one??**


	2. Chapter 2

x o x o

As I pulled into the driveway I cringed at the absence of my parent's car, and the FOR SALE sign already on the front lawn. I pulled up in front of the garage, grabbed my purse from the passenger seat and got out of the car.

When I got to the front door I took a deep breath before opening it. I had never felt more alone than when I had been going in the house all week. It was so depressing to walk into the house everyday and see half full boxes sitting everywhere. To not have my parents welcoming me there every day.

I closed my eyes and closed the doors. I paused in the hallway for a moment, hearing the silence that seemed to press in on me from everywhere, before going to my room, shutting the door pointlessly behind me. It looked so empty. Everything was already packed away, except for the few things I needed now. I tossed my purse to the floor and collapsed onto my bed. I stared out the window to the clouds that were already disappearing to reveal the beautiful blue sky behind.

I realized that my life was doing just the opposite of those clouds right now. Instead of opening up to reveal the light, it was closing, cutting off the once brilliant light of happiness. I couldn't see where these clouds ended. There was no way of knowing when or even if the darkness would lift.

x o x o

Three days later I was on the plane bound for Port Angeles, Washington, and after that, to Forks. I hoped more than anything that I would find no more reminders of my past there. Sure, I barely remembered the place, but there might still be some lingering memories around every corner.

I was looking out the window at the darkening sky when I thought I felt someone looking at me. I turned around uneasily and was stunned to see the old woman seated beside me staring at me. Not only that, but sadness and shock seemed to fill her frail, wrinkled face. I slid slightly away from her and looked at her curiously.

"Umm… Can I help you?" Maybe she was looking out the window, I mused. No. She was definitely looking right at me.

She seemed to be knocked out of her trance at my words. She said something in a language foreign to me. It sounded like Italian. I thought I heard her say something that sounded like "_vampiro_" but I couldn't be sure.

"I don't understand you." I tried using hand gestures, hoping she would know what I meant. She just pointed at me and repeated the same thing as before. I wonder what she was talking about. Did she want something from me?

I looked into her face, confusion filling my own. Gloom seemed to emanate from her eyes, as if she knew some dark secret. She raised her hand to my cheek and whispered something too quiet for me to hear. I flinched against her touch. We stared at each other, each not understanding the other. After a few moments she took her hand away and sighed, whispering something unintelligible under her breath. As she turned away I could swear that I saw tears in her eyes.

x o x o

As I walked out the airport doors I immediately saw my Uncle Phil's huge form above everybody around him. He caught my eye and started pushing through the crowd towards me. When he got to me he reached out and pulled me into a huge, warm bear hug.

"Hey Bella. I'm really sorry." He gave my shoulder a squeeze and led me outside to his car.

That's what I liked about my Uncle Phil, he didn't ask questions. He could tell when something was bothering someone but didn't pry, he was just there for you if you needed him. He and my dad had that much in common. I felt a pang as I remembered my father's quiet, apathetic nature. He never got too snoopy, or would butt in to my privacy. I realized how much I truly missed him.

Maybe coming to live with my uncle had been a bad idea. If he was going to remind me of my father all the time, then the grief would just be too much. I was thinking about this through the whole car ride to Forks.

I stared out the windows, watching as the trees flashed by. I spoke very few words to my uncle beside me, but that didn't matter. We didn't need to say anything. We were comfortable in the silence. Besides, there was nothing to say.

When we got to his small 2 story house, Uncle Phil led me upstairs to the guest room.

"Umm, this will be your room. It's not exactly very nicely done up. This weekend we can go shopping for some new furniture." He gave me a small smile and left me alone to unpack what little I had brought with me. I had some more of my stuff being sent to me, but it would be here sometime in the next two weeks.

When I finished, I looked around the small room. Seeing nothing of interest I went downstairs to where my Uncle was starting supper.

"Mmm, what smells so good?" I peeked around his arm to the stove where he was making spaghetti and delicious smelling sauce.

"My super secret sauce!" He grinned widely down at me.

"Yumm!"

"It'll be done in twenty minutes or so."

"Ok, I'm just going to go for a walk." I left the kitchen, pulled on my boots and went outside. I breathed deeply, letting the cool, damp air fill my lungs. It felt so refreshing, like it was cleansing my soul of everything that I had to face in the past few weeks.

I made my way towards the forest beside my Uncle's house. I made my way through the trees down a narrow pathway, enjoying the silence pressing in around me from everywhere. The combination of the air and the quiet seemed to give me a sense of peace and calm. It also cleared my mind and made me forget about everything.

I found a small clearing and stood still, marvelling at the green trees around me. I spotted a fallen tree off to the side and made my way carefully towards it, taking care not to trip over roots or anything.

I sat on the tree, not even caring that it was wet. I closed my eyes and listened to the silence around me.

Suddenly I saw something in my mind. I was standing somewhere in this same forest, a dark figure standing in front of me, facing me. I felt a shadow of deep, heart-wrenching pain as it turned around and disappeared. In my mind, I felt myself break and mindlessly begin to wander…

I opened my eyes. The pain I had felt… It had seemed so sharp and harsh. What was that? It seemed far too real to be any kind of dream or vision. I wondered who that shadow had been. Did it represent my parents leaving me forever? That didn't make sense though. I had never felt anywhere near that much pain in my life, not even when they died.

I shook off the feeling and made my way back to the house, looking forward to that spaghetti.

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**A/N: I'm sooo sorry this chapter took so long! I've been kinda busy lately.  
Sorry about the extremely cheesy foreshadowing thingies... lol  
Anyhoo, PLEASE REVIEW!! :D 3**


	3. Chapter 3

x o x o

There was only so much change someone could handle before they went completely mental, and a few weeks after I arrived I think I was beginning to reach that limit.

At first I had just been hanging around the house. I didn't want to go anywhere. It was so peaceful being in the house alone, trying not to face anything that would just bring up painful memories. But, after a couple weeks Uncle Phil was beginning to hint at me to start going back to school. Whenever I tried to respond to this though he would just mutter about "only going if I was absolutely ready." It reminded me so much of my dad, but I tried not to think about that.

I knew he wanted me to get distracted from my thoughts. To focus on something that wasn't remotely related to anything that would bring up memories. I knew that he was confused. He tried so hard, but he didn't know what he wanted to do. He didn't know what would be better for me, to forget about my parents, or to remember everything about them.

Even I didn't know what I wanted. On one hand I didn't want to be reminded of everything all the time, but on the other hand I didn't want to forget anything about them. It was all so confusing.

I decided that next week I would start school again. It was mid October and I had missed the first month and a half already. I was a pretty good student at my old school. Catching up would be difficult but not impossible. That wasn't what worried me though.

I hoped more than anything that nobody would ask me about my parents. I was worried that someone might say something, do something, or even wear something that would remind of my parents. I didn't want to remember them in the middle of school where there were so many people around. I didn't want to just burst into tears at school, no matter how understandable people would think it is.

I didn't want anybody to think I was weak, or for me to stand out. I didn't do well in the spotlight.

The night before I was due to go back to school, I found myself sitting across from Uncle Phil at the dinner table. I had barely even touched my grilled cheese sandwich, while he was on his sixth. He knew better than to ask me what was on my mind. I had zoned out a lot since I moved here. He had asked about it the first couple times, but then he realized what must be on my mind. The only thing that could possibly be on my mind at a time like this. He never asked me again after that.

I took a bite of my sandwich. It was so warm, so comforting, like a hug, or a cozy evening by the fire. I sighed and looked down at it in my hand. My mom used to make the best grilled cheese…

x o x o

I drove my new (well new to me) red truck down the rain-slicked road towards the school. I was running early so there were very few other cars in the parking lot. When I pulled into an empty spot, I just sat there and breathed slowly in and out. I was testing my emotions, trying to see how close they were to the ever-present grief and sorrow.

I got out of the truck and went to the school's office building. When I entered the warm air immediately enveloped me. I smiled at the secretary.

"Hello, how may I help you?" She smiled warmly back at me.

"Hello, I'm Isabella Swan…" I let my voice trail off.

"Yes of course! Hello Isabella-" She began looking through her desk.

"Please, call me Bella." Isabella sounded so formal and long to me. When my parents were angry they used to call me it.

I felt tears stinging my eyes but took a deep breath to hold them back. I was not going to cry, I was not going to cry…

"Of course…" She muttered absent-mindedly, totally oblivious to the struggle I was silently having with myself.

"Aha! There we go!" She pulled out a wad of papers triumphantly. "Here you go. There's your schedule, and a map. If you need anything else, don't be afraid to ask." She smiled at me again.

"Thanks." I smiled back and turned to go out the door, nearly walking into someone coming in.

"I'm so sorry!" I looked in to the face of a pale, blonde girl. My eyes widened. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life. She had long, wavy hair and a figure that any model would be envious of. The strangest thing about her though, were her eyes. They were a strange golden topaz colour.

She merely nodded and pushed past me towards the secretary. I continued through the door. Beautiful as she was, she seemed to have a vain, self-centered demeanour.

When I got outside I looked down at my schedule and compared it to my map. After figuring out where my first class was I made my way there, through the people that were all starting to arrive.

I went inside and looked around. There weren't very many people here yet and was unsure of where I should sit. I made my way to the teacher at the front of the room. I handed him the slip of paper to get signed. He introduced himself as Mr. Mason, and pointed to a seat near the back of the room in an empty desk.

The teacher began to talk about Romeo and Juliet. Throughout the whole class I couldn't focus on anything he said. I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts.

The next period I had Trigonometry. My teacher, Mr. Varner made me introduce myself to the class, but when he asked me why I moved to Forks I just looked down and muttered to myself. It wasn't any of his business why I moved here.

This time when I was sent to a seat it was beside a girl named Jessica. She had dark, curly brown hair and blue eyes, and was quite a chatterbox. Through the whole period she was asking me about Phoenix, why I had moved here (She steered clear of that subject after I told her what had happened and tears had come to my eyes), and about if I had had any boyfriends. After I said very little, she began to tell _her_ whole life story to me.

She had my next class, Spanish, with me too. When we got there she kept talking as if nothing had happened. Let's just say I was glad when the bell rang for lunch. The only problem was that she kept talking anyway on the way to the cafeteria.

She brought me to a table of her friends and introduced me to them all. We sat down and I looked around the cafeteria. There was one main thing I noticed here that was completely different from my school in Phoenix. There were really no cliques. There were no groups of people that you could classify with your eyes alone. No table of cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, nothing.

Well, I was thinking this until my eyes fell upon a table in a far corner. Five people sat there, seeming to be excluded from the rest of the school. One of them was the girl I had run into this morning in the office. I wondered who they were and why they were sitting alone, but the thought slipped from my mind as I was pulled back in to the conversation around me.

They were now talking about their families and what they had done the weekend before. From what I heard, there had been a picnic in town and everyone at the table had gone with their families. This was something I did not want to think, hear, or talk about. They had entered my red zone.

As their conversation continued I tried hard not to listen but really couldn't help myself. It was too hard to ignore them. Why did they have to talk about _this_! And why now?

They started talking about how they had a father-daughter dance at end the day and I felt the tears streaming down my face.

"Bella? Is something wrong?" I heard a voice calling to me through the haze, and someone touch my shoulder. I pushed them away and ran out of the cafeteria. The last thing I saw inside through my blurry, tear-filled eyes was someone from the corner of the cafeteria rise from their seat and start to come towards me.

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**A/N: Just one message.. PLEASE REVIEW... thank you :)**


	4. Chapter 4

x o x o

I ran outside to the farthest part of the school; away from where the rest of the school was having lunch. I didn't want them coming after me. They had no idea why I left. I wanted to keep it like that, but that probably wasn't going to happen. They were going to ask about it sooner or later.

I collapsed under a tree and put my head in my hands.

I had promised myself I wouldn't let this happen! I didn't want anybody to know about any of this. I had come to Forks to start anew, to be away from everyone who would know what had happened and ask questions. I didn't want to be reminded all the time. It just hurt too much.

Now I realized that no matter what I did, no matter where I went, I was always going to remember them. I was going to have to find another way to deal with my loss. There was no other solution I could think of.

"I know this is the last thing you want to hear but I'm really sorry." I jumped as the smooth, velvety voice broke through the silence. "I was going to stop them sooner, but I didn't know how." The voice sounded sincerely apologetic. The sound of such a beautiful voice showing that kind of sadness and regret touched my heart. I looked up and gasped at the sight of its owner.

Above me stood a tall, unbelievably beautiful boy. I realized that he was one of the people that had been sitting at the corner table. The one that had stood out to me. He had bronze hair in a casual disarray, and pale skin. He had faint shadows underneath his eyes as if he hadn't gotten any sleep for a while. I noticed that one of his hands at his side was clenched in a tight fist. What stunned me most were his eyes. They seemed to momentarily dazzle me. They were a strange liquid golden, topaz colour.

It was strange though, I could swear I saw something in his eyes. It looked as if he was in pain…

Tears were still streaming down my face and I bent down to wipe them away. I didn't want this beautiful person to see me like this.

Suddenly I felt his icy hand on my wrist. I looked up and gasped to see his face right in front of mine. He raised his other hand and wiped the tears from my face. His hands were so cold!

I couldn't help myself. I broke into sobs again as another wave of emotion swept over me. He wrapped his arms around me. His sweet scent wafted around me.

"Shh. Shh, its ok…" He whispered to me.

I had absolutely no idea who this stranger was, and I should feel absolutely terrified for being held like this by someone I didn't know, but for some reason I felt calm and perfectly safe.

Why did my problems matter to him? He didn't even know who I was. What did he mean he was sorry? Who was he going to stop from doing what? Did he mean stop them from talking about their families? Most importantly though, who was he?

I realized I wasn't crying anymore and he backed away from me.

"By the way, my name is Edward Cullen."

"I'm Bel-"

"Bella Swan, I know." He smiled down at me and held out a hand.

I cringed slightly at his ice-cold grasp as he pulled me to my feet. As he pulled me up, I could tell that he wasn't using all his strength. It was just one of those things you could tell.

He stared intensely into my eyes. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes." It was strange. Despite not even knowing this stranger, he seemed to make me feel at calm and at ease. I wondered why that was…

He frowned, as if he heard something that seemed to bother him.

"What class do you have? I'll walk you there." He smiled at me.

"Umm…" I dug my schedule out of my bag and quickly scanned it. "Biology."

"Ok, let's go."

We walked in silence towards one of the buildings on the other end of the school.

As I walked inside, I was surprised to notice that he walked in right behind me. I threw him a questioning look and he smiled his dazzling smile again.

"I have Biology too."

I wondered why he hadn't told me before.

Beside me I felt him shrug. I found that very odd.

He went to go sit in a seat near the middle of the room, and I continued on towards the front to give the slip to the teacher. It was then that I realized how many people there were in the room already. I recognized some of the people from the table I had been sitting at. They all had curious looks on their faces and were looking from me, to Edward, and then to me again. I wondered what they were thinking.

When I gave the slip to the teacher he sent me to the empty seat beside Edward. I could hear people start whispering as I made my way to my seat. As I passed her seat, a girl from the lunch table smiled shyly at me. I couldn't help but smile back. I suddenly felt bad for not paying attention to everyone's names.

I sat down and glanced quickly over at Edward. He was frowning and he had his right hand clenched in a fist again. I wondered if there was a reason for that or if he just did it out of habit. He noticed me looking at him and smiled. I smiled back and took out my books.

Through the whole class I kept shooting glances at him. I couldn't stop wondering about him. I was glad that he hadn't pried into why I had left the cafeteria, but at the same time, he hadn't told me how he knew that I was so upset and that the people at my table were the cause of it.

He was so mysterious and why did he care so much!? He didn't even know me!

After class he waited for me to pack up my books. I wondered how he had done it so much faster than I had.

As we walked towards my gym class, I noticed that he kept frowning. I wondered what was wrong, but I didn't want to ask. He was a complete stranger, it was none of my business.

When we got to the gym, I turned around to say goodbye, but he was already gone.

I couldn't stop thinking about him all through gym, even when the volleyball came straight towards me and hit me in the head. I was definitely not paying attention to what was happening around me.

After class I made my way to my truck. It seemed like everyone I passed was staring at me or whispering something to the person beside them. I wished I knew what rumours they were spreading about me.

I sighed and slammed the door behind me as I got into my truck. Great first impression I made. Why did I have to embarrass myself like that? I started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot, passing a shiny, silver Volvo as I went.

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**A/N: Hi!! For all you who guessed it was Edward, CONGRATS! Imaginary kiss from Edward for you! :)  
****PLEASE REVIEW!!!3**


	5. Chapter 5

x o x o

I pulled into the driveway, leaned my head against the steering wheel and sighed. Today had been… interesting, and I wasn't quite ready to face my Uncle just yet. He wasn't going to ask any questions, that much I knew, but I still didn't want to face the curious gaze that was just too familiar. It would just make me remember and make things that much worse than they already were. Right now wasn't the best time to be thinking about my parents. There were other things that I wanted to distract myself with. If I was planning on going inside to face my Uncle, I couldn't start crying now.

For now, I couldn't stop thinking about Edward. So many questions raced through my head. Even now, I didn't even care what the rest of the school thought of my outburst in the cafeteria. All I could focus on, all I could bear to focus on was him. If I thought about everyone else I would just end up thinking about their conversation. And I couldn't bear that again.

Before I even realized it, it was starting to get dark. It was also starting to get cold in the truck. My Uncle was going to be wondering what I was doing and I still had homework to do. How long had I been out here?

I opened the door and pulled my bag from the passenger seat. When I got inside my uncle called to me from the living room. As I walked inside he turned away from the TV towards me.

"Supper will be ready soon. You okay Bells?" I could hear the curiosity burning in his voice, but he wasn't pushing me for answers. He didn't ask me where I had been. I guess he had seen me outside in the truck.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired. I'll be upstairs." We smiled at each other and he turned back to the TV. I felt really bad for lying to him, but he didn't need to know about the truth. I could tell that he was worried enough about me enough as it was, no matter how much he tried not to show it,

I made my way upstairs to my room. As I did my homework, my mind kept wandering. I wasn't even thinking about anything specific anymore. I had thought through everything about Edward that there was to think about. We hadn't exactly talked very long. There wasn't much to think about, yet there was an overwhelming amount to think about at the same time.

I was just finishing the questions we got in Biology when I heard my Uncle calling me to supper. I slammed my book shut in frustration and went downstairs.

Supper was very quiet that evening. My Uncle just stared at me. He could tell that I didn't want to talk about school. He knew that there was something wrong. He just didn't know what exactly. Maybe he could guess, but he didn't know half of it.

After that, I told him that I still had some homework to finish, and he joked around about being overworked on only the first day. I laughed with him, then went upstairs. He tried so hard to make me happy.

I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what was to come the next day.

x o x o

I was driving down a curving road, trees flashing by my windows on either side of the road. From that I could tell I was still in Forks, or at least somewhere close by. Slowly, the trees began to clear from the roadside. From the sound of waves I could tell that I was getting closer to water.

I couldn't seem to control where I was going. I couldn't control my body at all. It seemed to be controlling itself, without me having any say in the matter. I broke through the confines of the trees and onto a road that ran alongside the edge of the cliff beside the ocean. The wind through the windows blew into my face. It was cold and refreshing and felt like it was waking me up, which meant it was sometime in the morning.

I pulled the truck to the side of the road and stopped it. For some reason I paused before getting out of the truck. It felt like I was disconnected from my body, like I was here, but completely disconnected from my thoughts or actions. It was a very odd feeling.

I opened the door, got out of the car and slammed it behind me, breathing in the scent of the cool, salty air. There was nobody nearby and the only sound to be heard was the waves and wind whistling through the trees. Slamming into the cliff side. Whipping my hair into my face. It felt so refreshing, powerful, and fresh.

My legs brought me forwards toward the edge of the cliff. I was too distracted by the waves to notice that I was pulling off my shoes, and peeling off my jacket and sweater until I was only wearing my jeans and t-shirt. I finally realized this when the freezing air sliced into my skin. What was I doing! Was I insane!

I made my way to the edge of the cliff. What a rush! Nothing compared to this moment on the edge of the earth. It was so exhilarating, the wind blowing thrashing through my hair, the waves pounding against the rocks far below. I could feel the power of it all around me. All thoughts were wiped clean from my mind. All memories of the day at school were forgotten, any memories of my parents were gone, and any questions I had had about Edward were completely gone. It felt so good.

My head leaned back and my arms rose above my head. My eyes closed. What was happening? I was really starting to panic now. I hoped I wasn't going to do what I thought I was going to do…

I rose up on my toes, and suddenly I threw myself off the cliff and into the dark, menacing, water below.

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**A/N: Sorry guys, been busy lately :P  
Anyhoo, please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

.x o x o

Suddenly, I sat up straight in my bed. I was breathing really hard.

I had never had a more vivid dream in my whole life! In it, I had driven to a beach (now that I thought about it I think it was First Beach near the Quileute village of la Push), and had jumped off the cliff into the thrashing waves below. I had absolutely no idea why. It just happened. I had had absolutely no control over what I had been doing.

After I calmed myself down, I glanced over at my alarm clock. It was 4:30 in the morning! The dream must not have been what had woken me up. I was a pretty deep sleeper and dreams never woke me up all on their own.

I looked out the window, but there was no wind. It was absolutely still and dark. Only it was raining. Nothing heavy, just a light mist. That couldn't have been what had woken me up, could it? It wasn't even making any sound.

I lay there for a while before the dream and thoughts of the rain were wiped from my mind. I rolled over and fell right back to sleep.

x o x o

By the time I was driving to school I had completely forgotten about that night. There were other things occupying my mind at the moment.

Like if Edward was going to be at school today, and if he was going to talk to me again.

I had even almost forgotten about the ever-constant grief…but not quite. I don't think anything could ever make me completely forget about that.

As I pulled into the school parking lot, I searched the crowds for bronze hair.

I was disappointed and felt sadness caving in on me when I didn't see him anywhere. Why did I let myself get so worked up about some guy I just met? Maybe it was because he was the only one who seemed to care about me.

All my thoughts seemed to trace back to one question.

_Why did I matter to him so much?_

I pulled into a parking space, still searching the crowds. I was disappointed yet again when I didn't see him.

Later, after I made it to English and was just pulling out my copy of Romeo and Juliet when a boy with pale blond hair gelled into spikes came and stood in front of my desk.

"Hi, I'm Mike." He smiled down at me.

"Bella."

"Nobody sits there-" He pointed to the empty seat beside me. "-I could, if you want someone to talk to."

"Sure."

By the end of class I was glad he came. Mike was the type of person that liked to talk a lot, and didn't need much participation from me in the conversation. It turned out he saw me storm out of the cafeteria yesterday and wanted to know what was wrong. Of course he saw, who hadn't seen?

The rest of the morning seemed to drag by. It didn't matter where I went; people kept asking me what was wrong and why I was so upset yesterday. Whenever they did ask I just told them that it was nothing. They definitely didn't believe me, but what was I supposed to tell them?

I walked to lunch with Jessica but I suddenly got nervous when we went inside.

I glanced around; trying to find the group that I knew would stand out from the rest. I was disappointed when I only saw 2 of them there. The blonde I had run into yesterday was there, laughing with the huge, muscular guy. I wondered where the other 3 were.

All through lunch I managed to get information about them from my neighbours at the table. I learned that the blonde's name was Rosalie Hale, and the guy was Emmett Cullen. The missing 3 were Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen and of course, Edward. They were all adopted by a Dr. Cullen and his wife.

Apparently they had never really tried to fit in with everyone else and liked their privacy. I couldn't really blame them. I knew what it was like to be pushed into a new school, with all new people. It was pretty hard to fit in when you were with people who had all known each other for so long like everyone here did.

At least they had each other, which was more than I had. I had absolutely nobody.

After a while, everyone drifted away into their own little conversations. I was left alone to my thoughts. I told Mike that I wanted to go for a walk and left.

I strolled outside and beside the school. Snow had begun to fall and had begun to blanket the ground.

I was looking down at the sidewalk, trying not to slip on the ice and not really thinking about anything at all when I heard a familiar velvety voice behind me.

"Hello, Bella." I spun around and looked into Edward's face. His beautiful face dazzled me, but it seemed cautious, like he was trying to stop himself from doing something.

"Hello, Edward." I felt a thrill as I said his name.

He tilted his head to the side curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Walking." I sighed.

"Well I'll walk with you then."

As we strolled along the sidewalk a million questions raced through my mind and I couldn't help but shooting quick glances over at him, wondering what was on his mind.

Suddenly I stopped and turned to face him. I took a deep breath. "Why did you come after me yesterday? Why does it matter to you that I was upset? Why do you care? Why are you here? What do you want?" As soon as the words left my mouth I cringed inside. They sounded much harsher than I had wanted them to.

He had stopped too and was looking into my eyes. I looked down, away from his smouldering golden gaze.

_Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!_ I thought to myself.

After a few minutes I peeked up at him to see him gazing off into the distance behind me. His face seemed thoughtful, as if he were debating over something with himself. I wanted so much to know what he was thinking.

"No you don't." I blinked in surprise. Did he actually say that? Or was I imagining things? It was too quiet to be sure.

He looked down into my face with an unreadable expression. It seemed like his eyes were struggling to tell me something that couldn't be put into words.

Ignoring his comment, I looked down again. "I'm sorry, I…" I couldn't seem to put into words what I wanted to say. We both stood there for an immeasurable amount of time, neither of us knowing quite what to say. It was him who spoke first.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but-" He lifted my chin and looked into my eyes. I barely noticed his freezing hands on my face, I was too preoccupied with his eyes and his unspoken words. "-what they said yesterday, why did it make you so upset?"

He seemed like he sincerely cared about my answer, and curiosity burned in his voice. I decided that I could trust him. I didn't really have any other choice now did I?

I nodded, and he lead me away from the school, into the security of the forest. I wasn't afraid. He just wanted to go somewhere private where nobody would bother us. Lunch was going to end soon. After we couldn't see the parking lot anymore we sat on a fallen log. He turned towards me and waited patiently for me to begin.

I took another deep breath; this was going to be painful. I began to talk.

I explained everything to him. Tears had begun to flood down my face before I had barely said anything. I told him how I felt when the police came to my door, every emotion I had felt during that long night of waiting. I told him how it felt to pack up everything in my parents bedroom; their clothes, their belongings, my homemade birthday cards to them, everything. I told him how it felt to stand beside their graves, friends and relatives surrounding me, reminding me of happier times, their coffins being lowered beneath the ground, the grief that had swallowed me at the sight of their names engraved upon their stones. I told him absolutely everything. I was sobbing by the end.

I poured my heart out to him, not caring that I knew next to nothing about him.

Throughout my whole explanation he had sat there patiently, sympathy flooding from all of his features. I hadn't even realized it when he had wrapped his arm around my shoulders. When I was done, I dropped my head into my hands, crying uncontrollably with loss and grief.

Suddenly, he pulled me into his arms like he had done the day before. The difference was, this time he understood absolutely everything. His embrace was full of understanding and compassion. We sat like this for an endless amount of time. The only sound to be heard was my hiccupping and crying. I buried my head into his ice cold shoulder. He rubbed my back gently, whispering softly in my ear.

By the time I pulled away from him, his shirt was soaked with my tears. I wiped my eyes.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of cars pulling out of the school parking lot became aware of everything all at once and jumped up. "I'm so sorry!" I looked up into his eyes and almost gasped.

They were filled with unbelievable pain and sorrow. I panicked.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

He shook his head sadly and without a word, pulled me back down into a hug.

* * *

**A/N: I'm really sorry I haven't posted in a while! I've been busy and havent really been focusing on writing lately.  
What do you think about Bella and Edward so far? is he being creepy? LOL I hope not... :D I don't want to taint our dear Edward's reputation. :)  
Please review! I love you all! Mua!!**


	7. Chapter 7

x o x o

After that day, Edward became my very best friend. We went everywhere together. Because of this, I slowly started to drift away from the few people I had been friends with before. I connected with Edward on a completely different level from them, making me realize how I had absolutely nothing in common with them in the first place. I knew that everyone in the school had begun to talk about us behind my back, but strangely it didn't bother me. They could talk all they wanted; it didn't make any difference to me. They all thought we were secretly dating. Ha! Like Edward would let that happen.

He soon knew absolutely everything about me. Every day he insisted on asking me every question imaginable. He asked everything from my favourite colour, to my greatest fear. He always was considerate enough to steer clear of anything that would remotely relate to my parents, and of that I was grateful. He seemed to understand how much the subject saddened me.

He told me about himself too, but only vaguely. That seemed to be his only flaw; he never told me much about himself. Sure, I knew a bit about his family and basic personal facts, but he never gave out too much detail. This made me think that he was hiding something from me, and it hurt me. I told him everything, didn't he trust me? Of course I asked him about it, but he only ever said that he wasn't very interesting and cryptically added that there were some things about him that were better for me not knowing. Sure he seemed really different from other people, but it couldn't be that bad could it?

These cheap excuses never failed to keep me up at night. Some nights I got hardly any sleep thinking over his cryptic little messenges.

Another strange thing about Edward was that he could read me better than anyone ever had, even my parents (this thought never failed to shoot a bolt of pain through my heart). He always seemed to know what I was thinking. This made me happy. Finally there was somebody in the world that was on the same page as I was. I had never really connected with anyone before, and I was overjoyed at this now. Sure, in the back of my mind I knew there was something different about Edward, but I tried to keep it right there. At the back of my mind. I didn't want anything to burst my bubble of almost complete cheerfulness.

For the first time since my parents had died, I was actually happy. Of course not as happy as I had been, or could potentially be, but at least it was something.

x o x o

Several months had passed since I had first met Edward. For some reason, today he had insisted on driving me home. His sister, Alice was going to come pick him up a little later. I personally didn't see the point of bringing me home, but hey, what did I know?

He pulled my truck into the driveway. He never surprised me with his relentless kindness. He had been so nice to me. So much nicer than anyone else I had met here had been. Nobody else seemed to wonder why exactly I had come here. He had no idea how much I appreciated him being here for me. I didn't know how to translate that feeling into words.

I glanced over at him to see that he had his head hanging back against the seat, eyes closed. I wondered what he was thinking about.

He looked over at me, indecision and sadness filled his eyes. I could feel the question forming in my eyes. He could see it too.

I saw him clench his fist until his knuckles went white, and mutter something unintelligible to himself under his breath.

"I'm really sorry Bella." He still spoke quietly.

I tilted my head to the side. "For what?" He was making no sense, He didn't have anything to be sorry for. If anything, I should be sorry for inconveniencing him and telling him all about my problems.

"I really don't mind hearing your problems. I _want_ to hear them. I don't want to see you hurting." Now I was really confused. How had he known what I was thinking?

"I can't believe I'm going to do this. They're going to kill me for it…" He took my hand, but then thought for a moment and let go again. "Can I tell you something? Something really important? Something that will change everything about what you think of me. I just want to tell you know before things go too far with us."

I was so confused. What did he mean?

"Of course, you can tell me anything. Listening to what you have to say is the least I could do." I was anxious to know what he wanted to tell me. This was the first time had even mentioned that he wanted to tell me anything and it seemed really important to him.

He laughed softly. "You have no idea how important."

My eyes widened. He had answered my thoughts! How was that possible? He couldn't have possibly guessed what I was thinking. He actually knew!

He laughed again then got serious. "You know there's something really different about me right?"

Well obviously, that was a given. I just nodded.

"Well yeah I guess that is pretty obvious isn't it? Hmm…" He paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. I assumed he was debating over whether or not he really did want to tell me. The fact that he had answered my thoughts again didn't seem to bother me all that much. I waited patiently for him to continue.

He suddenly turned to me, his eyes glistening. "I can\t really tell you, but can I show you?"

"Umm, sure." What did he want to show me?

'Ok, well this Sunday, be ready at 7. I'll come pick you up." His explanation mysteriously stopped there.

* * *

**A/N: BTW for all of you that were wondering, Edward can read Bella's mind. I'm sorry I forgot to get back to you on that.  
Anyhoo, LOVE the reviews! please keep 'em coming! The more reviews, the happier I'll be. The happier I am, the more I want to write! LOL :D Love you all!**


	8. Chapter 8

x o x o

"_Ok, well this Sunday, be ready at 7. I'll come pick you up."_

I couldn't stop thinking about Edward's words for the rest of the night. After saying them, Alice had mysteriously arrived right on time and they both left together in his Volvo. It was only Wednesday, and I don't think I could wait for Sunday to come. It was so far away from now. What did he want to show me?

Parts of the rest of the week crept by, while others sped by in chunks. I couldn't stop wondering what he wanted to show me. I know that he could tell how anxious and curious I was, because sometimes when I would look at him he would have a small smirk on his face. It was driving me crazy!

On Saturday night, I couldn't help but excusing myself and going to bed early. I was so excited for the next day. I was laying in bed for nearly an hour before I finally fell asleep.

x o x o

Edward stood in front of me, shielding me from something I couldn't see. I could feel a solid rock wall behind me. He was crouched in a defensive position. I peeked around his shoulder and saw a dark figure in the forest. Snow was falling all around us, and freezing cold air was whipping through the clearing. A menacing growl ripped from his throat. As he crouched lower, I shrunk farther against the wall.

Suddenly, I woke up and glanced over at my alarm clock. It was still really early. I leaned back against the pillow and closed my eyes. I was thinking about the dream. What did it mean? Who had Edward been protecting me from? Oh well, It didn't matter, I had more important things happening today.

I decided that there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep now so I got up and started getting ready for the day. Uncle Phil had already left for work, so there was nobody to ask me why I was up so early on a weekend. I had absolutely no idea where we were going today so I dressed casually in jeans, t-shirt and a sweater. It was nearly 7 as I swallowed a bowl of cereal. I couldn't help but to keep glancing out the windows, anxious for his arrival. The day was cloudy, and seemed like it was going to rain. I wasn't surprised.

I leaned down to put my dishes in the dishwasher, and after only a couple seconds when I straightened up again, a silver Volvo had pulled into the driveway and Edward had just closed the driver-side door. He never ceased to amaze me.

The doorbell rang. I rushed to the door and pulled it open. He stood on the doorstep more beautiful than Adonis himself. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to be spending the day with him.

"Hey, Bella." He flashed his dazzling smile at me. Just like always, I couldn't help but smile in return.

"So where are we off to today?" I grabbed my cell phone from the counter and joined him outside, locking the door behind me.

"You'll see." He spoke mysteriously as he pulled open the passenger door of his car for me and went around to the other side. When we were both in the car, he started the engine and pulled out of the driveway and made his way through town.

"Where did you tell your uncle you were going today?" The question seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Umm…" The truth was, I hadn't told him what I was going to do. Sure, I had told him that I was going out with friends, but I hadn't specified on which friends exactly. "I didn't tell him really where I was going, because _I_ didn't even know." I hoped that was a good enough answer for him.

He sighed and spoke calmly. "Bella… You should have told someone you were coming with me."

I had absolutely no idea what he meant by this and just stayed quiet, looking down at my hands.

I could feel a yawn coming over me and tried stifling it without much success.

"You're tired." He pointed out obviously. "Didn't you sleep well?" The question was innocent enough but he sounded like he knew something that he was keeping from me. I had no idea how I could pick this out of his words, but I could.

"I just had a strange dream that I was trying to figure out. It kept me up last night. Don't worry about it, I'm really not that tired."

"A dream about…?" I could feel the curiosity in his voice, but it didn't seem like he was wondering about the dream, but something else.

"Oh nothing, just one of those strange dreams you get sometimes, you know?" He didn't need to know about it.

'Mhmm." It seemed like he wasn't really paying attention to the conversation anymore and when I peeked over at him I saw a thoughtful, almost amused look on his unbearably beautiful face.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing." He turned and smiled at me. Why did he always have to be so darn cryptic? I turned to the road to notice that we had pulled on to a long, empty road. I didn't recognize it, and that fact was very irritating. I would have liked to know where we were going.

Suddenly, ahead of us, the road just seemed to end. Edward parked the car to the side, and was at my door faster than was humanly possible, but this oddly didn't surprise me at all. I felt as if nothing he did would ever surprise me anymore.

As I got out of the car I looked around us. There was absolutely nothing around us but trees. There was a trail head a little in front of us that disappeared into the thick forest beyond.

I looked over at Edward questionably.

He held out his hand to me. "Do you trust me?"

What a strange question. "Yes." I reached out and took hold of his icy cold hand. He hesitated. I saw something in his eyes as he thought of something.

"Are you sure? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"No, I do trust you. I want to see what you want to show me. It seems really important to you, so it's important to me." He seemed to doubt my words at first, but then decided that he waned to trust me.

Suddenly, he swung me onto his back with unbelievable ease, my arms wrapped around his neck instinctively. After getting over the momentary surprise, I realized how he felt underneath my grasp. His neck felt unbelievably strong, cold, and smooth. I would have thought he was made of marble if I hadn't known better.

"Do you trust me?" he asked again.

I nodded, still confused.

Suddenly, he took off through the trees. The incredible speed left me absolutely breathless. Trees flashed by us on every side, but beneath me, I hardly felt him moving at all. It was the most incredible thing I had ever felt in my life. I looked over his shoulder and watched as he dodged the oncoming trees with blinding fast reflexes. Pure joy, and bliss seemed to radiate from his features. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my entire life. I couldn't help but feel the way he looked. Running like this was breathtaking. Strangely, I wasn't scared at all. I usually didn't like speed, but this was completely different. With Edward I felt a hundred percent safe.

I wondered why he had never shown me this before. It was incredible. But I guessed that there was still a whole lot more to him than this that I didn't know.

He stopped suddenly. I was disappointed that the ride was over so quickly. Edward chuckled softly, as if he knew what I had been thinking. I carefully let go and dropped to the ground. Ahead of us, I could see some sun shining through the trees, which I took to mean that there was a clearing there. Was this where he wanted to go? I looked questionably over to him, and he just motioned for me to continue forward.

I took his hand firmly and we walked together into the clearing.

* * *

**A/N: Hey! Haven't really been writing lately =P sorry guys =(  
Anywho, please review! =D 3**


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